Someone
here wrote: "apparently a number of people (Jim Newman for one) ...and
many others have woken to their true nature without getting lost in
the morass of stages and states of the various schools of
Buddhism.....through the new advaita teachers like Adyashanti or
Gangaji......you were lucky or talented but your journey is beyond the
average person.....and it appears to be a perilous journey to say the
least.....a few good teachers have pointed out that Buddhist meditation
is potentially dangerous...destabilizing ...to find out that there is
no one home.... can lead one off the deep end and it’s not pretty."
Soh Wei Yu
I'm a dharma pragmatist, and I think we need data and evidence when it
comes to what works, and what does not, and for what does it work for.
And we should not just look at one teacher, but get the accumulated
data from a wide range of actual persons who attained genuine
awakening. And from these data we can then sieve through and discern
how effective and helpful their methodology have been for other
people/students applying it for themselves, for the purpose of
attaining awakening.
What you'll find is that all those who awakened, even so called
spontaneous awakenings, were triggered by a deep desire to discover the
truth, and that may be by self enquiry or some other form of
contemplations and meditation practices.
Let's take a look at some actual cases of awakening, not limited to Buddhism:
Buddha - awakened to the truth of anatta, dependent origination and
complete liberation at the age of 35 after 6 years of mostly
practicing the wrong way (asceticism, then later practicing the
formless absorptions under two Samkhya teachers). It is very likely
that he attained the I AM stages, before renouncing those teachers and
sitting in meditation under the bodhi tree for 49 days before his final
awakening. During that 49 days he entered into blissful meditative
absorption of jhana, contemplated and realized dependent origination
and put an end to the taints of clinging/identity/desire/afflictions
that drives samsaric births.
Buddha then taught the dharma for 45 years, teaching the noble
eightfold path of practice as the sole means to liberation. He later
taught that even after attaining liberation himself, he continues to
consistently practice ardently, go for retreats, do intensive
meditation, in order to 1) it is a pleasant abiding to be doing
meditation, 2) to set a good example for other students. His other
arahant students have made similar statements in one way or another,
they all continued to practice meditation even after attaining
liberation and "done what is to be done", simply because it continues
to be a very beneficial and enjoyable thing to do. And there continues
to be countless cases of enlightenment achieved through ardent practice
of the four foundations of mindfulness taught by Buddha, which
consists of meditative mindfulness and contemplation in sitting, and
even in movement, on every arising experience.
Buddha had literally thousands of students attain the fourth and
final stage of liberation - arahantship - and many hundreds/thousands
more who attained the lower stages of awakening (sotapanna, sakadagami,
and anagami). By the numbers recounted in the suttas, he was the most
effective and efficient teacher in leading students to awakening in
masses, by far, in history.
Eckhart Tolle - Awakened to I AM at 29 spontaneously through
Self-Enquiry. His awakening was triggered by Self-Enquiry, which is
recommended in AtR as a direct path to self-realization. Sat as a
recluse in deep meditation and bliss in a park for two years with no
home and family after initial awakening, and during this time his
initial awakening continued to deepen into greater depths and samadhi
on the I AM. In his books he teaches various methods and meditations,
i.e. not an exponent of the "no practice" doctrine. He calls his
meditation methods "portals".
Note that the I AM realization is not the same as the realization
of anatta/emptiness that the Buddha had, but it is a genuine
realization of luminous essence of Presence-Awareness.
Based on my encounters with the Eckhart Tolle's online community
more than a decade ago, it would seem that many of Eckhart's 'students'
have attained to I AM realization.
Ramana Maharshi - Awakened to I AM at 16 spontaneously through
Self-Enquiry. A strong advocate for the practice of self-enquiry.
Again, not a 'no practice' exponent. Had many self-appointed
successors, presumably many are realized themselves, and many who can
attest to the efficacy of his teachings and method of practice. Ramana
Maharshi frequently remained motionless in lengthy durations of
meditative absorption/samadhi, sometimes not leaving his seat for hours
and days or more in caves, especially during the first decades after
his initial awakening.
Ch'an Master Hsu Yun - Awakened after 30+ years of practice.
Awakened to I AM and One Mind through self-enquiry and hearing a sound
of cup shattering. A strong exponent of self-enquiry. Not a 'no
practice' exponent. As a matter of fact, Ch'an Master Hsu Yun's is
renowned for entering such deep meditative samadhi for very long
duration of times that he has become a legendary saintly character in
China, like the equivalent of Ramana Maharshi but in China (also
curiously, both lived in the same period). Had many, many successors
who have awakened to the similar realizations as him.1
Soh Wei Yu
Daniel M. Ingram - I don't have to introduce him here, well known
dharma teacher currently residing in USA. Awakened through Mahasi
Sayadaw lineage, though his breakthrough into MCTB 3rd path was I think
also influenced by Vajrayana teachings, I believe while on a
meditation retreat, then his MCTB 4th path (anatta realization) in 2003
was triggered while doing Vipassana and Bahiya Sutta style
contemplation, while on a meditation retreat. Also, Actual Freedom
teachings led to another breakthrough down the line (intensity of
luminosity + some other insights). Daniel is a dharma pragmatist and
advocate of hardcore practice, going to retreats and putting in the
hours, and so on. His large community also consists of a number of
highly realized practitioners. He continues to regularly go for retreat,
do daily sittings, and being a recently retired ER surgeon, he now has
more time for dharma work. As he said recently, his practice is now
largely in servicing others.
David Carse - not aligned to any lineage, his awakening occurred
while taking Ayahuasca (the famous shamanic psychedelic brew containing
Dimethyltryptamine/DMT) in the Amazonian rainforests, his description
of awakening is of I AM + impersonality + One Mind. His is a rare and
special case of a seemingly stable spiritual awakening produced
primarily by the ingestion of a psychedelic drug, as most people who
take psychedelics merely have temporary experiences or glimpses, and
later had more lasting breakthroughs and realization through
self-enquiry, contemplation and meditations. And it is for this reason -
that psychedelic drugs have not proven itself to consistently produce
deep and lasting awakening, along with its risks, that I have not made
any recommendations for experimenting with these substances, although I
have personally tried them myself.
It should however be understood that psychedelic drugs can indeed
spontaneously lead to meditative and contemplative states (albeit
temporarily) where glimpses of the luminous presence of consciousness
begins to shine forward directly and intimately, where the filters of
egoic separation breaks down and dissolves. Where consistent meditation
practice allows for such states of consciousness and insights to
emerge naturally and consistently albeit in a more gradual manner,
psychedelics are like being strapped to a rocket ship that heads for
the sky only to fall back to earth after a while.
However, I am not aware of David Carse's teachings resulting in
another person attaining the same state of awakening as David.
John Wheeler - had an active interest and practice in spirituality,
but his breakthrough happened when he was directly pointed out his
luminous essence of Presence-Awareness by the Neo-Advaita guru Sailor
Bob Adamson. This does not negate the importance of the earlier part of
his path prior to encountering Sailor Bob Adamson, but it does
demonstrate that having good pointers by a realized teacher/friend can
be very helpful at leading to a breakthrough.
His style of teaching seems to be directly pointing out the essence
of one's awareness to be doubtless presence-awareness, and seeing the
personal self to be false (leading to impersonality). Although he does
not call this a formal kind of practice, he actively writes pointers to
questioners and asks them to look at the fundamental points in one's
own nature, to examine one's own nature so that the very fact of one's
existence becomes irrefutably established/seen/realized beyond doubt,
i.e. self-realization. This is in fact not different from self-enquiry
and contemplation. From his books it would appear that a number of his
students have gained certainty of Being, i.e. I AM realization.
The last I read about him, he seems to have stopped teaching and
went to India to learn from another guru and perhaps go into retreat
for practice. Perhaps he has realized that there are deeper depths to
explore in spirituality than what he has realized thus far.
For those who are into self-enquiry, I often recommend the trio of
Ramana Maharshi, Eckhart Tolle and John Wheeler's teachings into the
mix.1
Soh Wei Yu
Richard Maynard of the Actual Freedom Trust - in 1981 "as the result
of an earnest and intense process" he attained the AM realization where
his ego dissolved and he realized to be the birthless and deathless
Absolute and True Self -- i.e. the I AM realization. After 1981 he
continued to contemplate, investigate, and found the shortcomings of
his state of enlightenment. In 1992, through his earnest intent to
relinquish even the slightest trace of 'self' - even the 'Self' with the
capital S that denotes the Absolute that he found to be the last
obscuration to his destiny that he glimpsed in PCEs, his 'soul' and
identity in toto, not only the ego which was previously extinguished in
1981 but the capital 'S' Self that denotes the metaphysical and
deathless Absolute, God, and so on, is extirpated once and for all, in
the event he calls self-immolation. After a death-like experience, he
permanently landed in the "actual world" free of malice and sorrow, full
of incredible gladness and aliveness where the woods and trees and
flowers and sky take on a paradisiacal quality and everything is
sparkling and alive with vitality, intensity, vividness and brilliance.
The sense of a psychological entity that establishes distance and
boundary dissolves, leaving only the infinitude of space and time
without reference or measure, only the whole universe in its centerless
and boundless infinitude is experienced constantly in a 360 degree
apperceptive pure awareness. This was accomplished by his pure intent to
completely relinquish his 'self' and actualize the pristine purity of
the actual world here and now. He is an advocate of the method 'how am I
experiencing this moment of being alive?' which requires one to always
examine whether one is living happily, harmlessly and feeling
good/feeling perfect, and if one is not, then examine the triggers and
see the silliness of falling out of perfection into negative feelings
and emotions as a result of this trigger. The goal being to constantly
enjoy and appreciate life in its actuality here and now such that the
pristine and luminous actual world shines forth freed from the
instinctual passions/identity obscuring the innate purity and perfection
of the universe from becoming apparent.
Again, not a 'no practice' advocate, and based on his website there
is now an estimated 10 people who have attained actual freedom from
his approach.
Zen Master Dogen - the founder of Japanese Soto Zen sect - well
known for advocating Zazen, or just sitting. An ardent practitioner of
the "just sitting" practice of seated meditation, Dogen has a zeal to
find out the truth from an early age. He wondered, "As I study both the
exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that
human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the
case, why did the Buddhas of all ages — undoubtedly in possession of
enlightenment — find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in
spiritual practice?"
At that time his understanding of Buddha-Nature is I AM. It assumes
Buddha Nature is a dualistic and inherently existing Self that is
separate from time and practice.
"By his fifteenth year one burning question became the core around
which his spiritual strivings revolved: "If, as the sutras say, our
Essential-nature is Bodhi (perfection), why did all Buddhas have to
strive for enlightenment and perfection?" His dissatisfaction with the
answers he received at Mount Hiei led him eventually to Eisai-zenji,
who had brought the teachings of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism from
China to Japan. Eisai's reply to Dogen's question was: "No Buddha is
conscious of its existence [that is, of this Essential-nature], while
cats and oxen [that is the grossly deluded] are aware of it." In other
words, Buddhas, precisely because they are Buddhas, no longer think of
having or not having a Perfect-nature; only the deluded think in such
terms. At these words Dogen had an inner realization which dissolved
his deep-seated doubt."
Later, under Rujing, Dōgen realized liberation of body and mind
upon hearing the master say, "Cast off body and mind" (身心脱落 shēn xīn
tuō luò). This phrase would continue to have great importance to Dōgen
throughout his life, and can be found scattered throughout his
writings, as—for example—in a famous section of his "Genjōkōan" (現成公案):
"To study the Way is to study the Self. To study the Self is to forget
the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the
universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast
off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the
traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless
enlightenment goes on forever and ever."
Dogen was very clear about anatta and total exertion. As to his original question, he later had this to say:
"Accordingly, in the practice-enlightenment of the buddha way,
meeting one thing is mastering it--doing one practice is practicing
completely. Here is the place; here the way unfolds. The boundary of
realization is not distinct, for the realization comes forth
simultaneously with the mastery of buddha-dharma.
Do not suppose that what you realize becomes your knowledge and is
grasped by your consciousness. Although actualized immediately, the
inconceivable may not be apparent. Its appearance is beyond your
knowledge. Zen master Baoche of Mt. Mayu was fanning himself. A monk
approached and said, "Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there
is no place it does not reach. When, then, do you fan yourself?"
"Although you understand that the nature of the wind is permanent,"
Baoche replied, "you do not understand the meaning of its reaching
everywhere."
"What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?" asked the monk
again. The master just kept fanning himself. The monk bowed deeply.
The actualization of the buddha-dharma, the vital path of its
correct transmission, is like this. If you say that you do not need to
fan yourself because the nature of wind is permanent and you can have
wind without fanning, you will understand neither permanence nor the
nature of wind. The nature of wind is permanent; because of that, the
wind of the buddha's house brings forth the gold of the earth and makes
fragrant the cream of the long river." - http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/.../genjo-koan...
Dogen has created a lineage full of deeply enlightened Zen masters
and teachers and practitioners. I love his lineage, having practiced in
a Soto Zen dharma center when I was studying in Australia many years
ago. They have great emphasis on meditation - sitting and walking. 1.5
hours of each meeting is dedicated to meditation, the remaining 0.5
hours consist of the dharma teacher discussing about the dharma - which
is very resonating as it is describing anatta and total exertion.
There is no neglecting of practice in this lineage, which is one of the
reasons why I like this lineage and enjoy practicing there.
Furthermore, actualization as described by Dogen goes far beyond just
sitting on the cushion, it is actualizing in everyday life and
activities. This too is described by Dogen and the Zen masters.
Now my practice is completely effortless and actualized in every
moment of activity, from sitting to sleeping to moving about in one's
daily life. It is full engagement, total exertion of the three times
and ten directions, the entire universe involved every moment of
activity with nothing in the universe being concealed.
awakeningtoreality.blogspot.comGenjo Koan: Actualizing the Fundamental PointGenjo Koan: Actualizing the Fundamental Point1 Soh Wei Yu
Myself and John Tan - our awakenings at different stages are triggered
by different styles of contemplation. E.g. self-enquiry led to our I
AM realization, two stanzas of anatta led to John's anatta and bahiya
sutta led to my anatta breakthrough. We are advocates of dedicated,
sincere practice and contemplation as effective means for attaining
awakening. Awakening to Reality has so far led to 30+ people awakening
to at least anatta (John Tan Stage 5) realization and the results speak
for itself.
Now lets look at the few people who had so called spontaneous
awakenings but did not teach any particular method of practice -
Tony Parsons. Had a spontaneous PCE in a park, which seems to be
followed by an I AM realization where he spent some time in before even
the Witness finally collapsed into nonduality (based on 'As It Is').
He seems to have gone through a further refinement of insight in recent
years where even the notion of 'awareness' seems to have dissolved for
him.
He does not advocate for practice or meditation, and his approach
seems to be purely descriptive, a description of what non-duality,
no-self, and so on is. He also points out the delusiveness of self.
However, given that the does not advocate for a pragmatic and
methodical way of approaching truth, it is quite doubtful if his
students/listeners can actually "get the message", and if so, how
frequently.
Tony Parsons thought that practice is basically useless, but he
does not see that the crucial element that led to his awakening was his
deep earnestness in seeking truth, that drove him to various
meditations and therapies before he later had a spontaneous awakening
on his own. It is this earnestness to discover truth, to contemplate,
that is the key factor in meditative contemplation that made him ready
to 'receive' and awaken to the truth.
U.G. Krishnamurti - underwent various mystical experiences, the
collapse of divisiveness into nondual peak experiences, before finally
the realization of no-self in an excruciating experience he calls the
calamity, which I call energy imbalance. It is clear that he has a deep
yearning to find the truth and this deep yearning for truth and
contemplative mind was the trigger for his state of realization.
However he was unable to discern the conditions that led to his
realizations, and taught to his students that he was merely a freak of
nature and practices are useless. Understandably, none of his
"students" could understand him or realize what he realized, and so his
awakening had not been of much benefit to people around him.
Now, this may piss off some readers but I have to say that despite
whatever awakenings many have claimed and I have listed above, other
than Buddha and the arahants, most people still have way more to go.
And the only way is to practice ardently in both formal sessions
(meditation/yoga/etc) and in daily life.
How to know whether you are still not at the end of the road -
Have you completely removed the ten fetters and become an arahant?
Buddha: “There are these ten fetters. Which ten? Five lower fetters
& five higher fetters. And which are the five lower fetters?
Self-identification views, uncertainty, grasping at habits &
practices, sensual desire, & ill will. These are the five lower
fetters. And which are the five higher fetters? Passion for form,
passion for what is formless, conceit, restlessness, & ignorance.
These are the five higher fetters. And these are the ten fetters.”
Or alternatively: in the Mahayana path, have you attained
Buddhahood and completely released the two obscurations thereby
attaining omniscience?
Obscurations (Tib. sgrib pa, Skt. avarana): factors which veil one's Buddha-nature. [MR]
Obscuration (sgrib pa). The two veils of disturbing emotions and dualistic knowledge that cover one's buddha nature. [RY]
Obscurations (sgrib pa). The veils that covers one's direct
perception of the nature of mind. In the general Buddhist teachings
several types are mentions: the obscuration of karma preventing one
from entering the path of enlightenment, the obscuration of disturbing
emotions preventing progress along the path, the obscuration of
habitual tendencies preventing the vanishing of confusion, and the
final obscuration of dualistic knowledge preventing the full attainment
of buddhahood. [RY]
I am not personally convinced that anyone modern has attained
'arahantship' or 'Buddhahood', even if they have realized anatta.
Unfortunately, half-past-six practitioners are plentiful these
days, when 99% of so called enlightened people are stuck at I AM and
think they are Buddhas.
If even Buddhas and arahants practice, then so much more must
non-Buddhas and non-arahants practice for their own sake and the
benefit of others.
Soh Wei Yu
"Buddhist meditation is potentially dangerous...destabilizing ...to
find out that there is no one home.... can lead one off the deep end
and it’s not pretty."
Well the realization and shift in consciousness can be dangerous if
there no one to guide, it has nothing to do with "Buddhist
meditation". Any meditations are equally dangerous because they can
cause a shift of consciousness. Even a secular meditation has equal
dangers if it can trigger shifts in consciousness. Same as with
psychedelic drugs.
One can be stuck like U.G. Krishnamurti with a tortorous experience
of "The Calamity" for 3 years, AF Richard's "mental agony" and "brain
excitation" for 2 years, and they are not Buddhists nor were they
practicing Buddhist meditations.
John Tan (Thusness) got stuck in a very intense period of suffering
for years due to energy imbalance during his I AM phase, before he
became Buddhist. He was not practicing Buddhist meditation then. It was
only overcome after anatta.
Personally, my practices had never led to any danger or
destabilizing experience. My recent 7-days energy imbalance experience
is by far the only unpleasant experience I've ever had, and was easily
overcome through following John Tan's guidances and advise.
I don't think Buddhist meditations are inherently unsafe, but
practicing without guidance + navigating the territories without
sufficient wisdom can be unsafe, as one can practice wrongly and cause
various unpleasant psycho-physical side-effects.
Soh Wei Yu
" many others have woken to their true nature without getting lost in
the morass of stages and states of the various schools of
Buddhism.....through the new advaita teachers like Adyashanti or
Gangaji..... "
Gangaji is still stuck at I AM and I believe she teaches self
enquiry as the method of practice. Too many people stop short of full
enlightenment and get satisfied with what I consider a rather
preliminary stage of realization.
Adyashanti practiced deep meditation and self enquiry under a Zen
master, triggering his first breakthrough to I AM/Eternal Witness, but
even then he had to undergo further realizations into non-dual and
anatta in recent years. He wrote that in his more recent books and
writings, I'm surprised you didn't realise he underwent a journey and
phases of insights quite similar to mine.
· Edited
Òskar K. LinaresAs
far as I know if you get a sudden SHIFT it's always IAM. They can say
they're enlightened, maybe I thought the same ten years ago, but it's
just IAM, it's the gate that opens. But there's a lot of path to do. The
big problem is that if you think you're at the end, then you're lost
and maybe you'll go astray.
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Reply
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Soh Wei Yu"Though
buddha nature is plainness and most direct, these are still the steps.
If one does not know the process and said ‘yes this is it’… then it is
extremely misleading. For 99 percent [of ‘realized’/’enlightened’
persons] what one is talking about is "I AMness", and has not gone
beyond permanence, still thinking [of] permanence, formless… ...all and
almost all will think of it along the line of "I AMness", all are like
the grandchildren of "AMness", and that is the root cause of duality.” -
John Tan, 2007
Òskar K. LinaresSoh Wei Yu
I Agree. And that's also the cause of so much informational chaos
today, because some people in IAM is claiming buddhahood or something
close and their teachins are misleading. They claim buddhahood but their
teachings are full of disguised atman.
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Reply
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Posts
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